Bentenmaru
The Bentenmaru (弁天丸（べんてんまる）, Bentenmaru) is a space pirate ship, one of the Original Seven that received Letters of Marque during the War of Independence. Its former captain was Gonzaemon Kato and its current captain is Marika Kato. Design The design of the Bentenmaru differs considerably between the light novels and the anime. Light Novels Exterior In the novels, the ship has a long, streamlined central hull with two large sections sticking out at the sides near the stern. The bridge is located near the front of the vessel. Towards the rear of the ship, there is a twin-cannon turret on the upperside of the hull. Behind it are two engines at the stern with fins on the outer sides. The two outer sections also have built-in engines. Colour Scheme The ship primarily has a purple-grey colour with dull yellow segments. The pirate emblem is located on the side of the middle hull. Anime Exterior In the anime, the Bentenmaru has a coned bow and cylinder-shaped main body, commonly associated with rockets, with four fins at the rear. The bow has several panels over it which pull back when the ship performs FTL jumps Sailing 18 or deploys the frontal pulse weapon Sailing 20. A small probe is also located at the front. Just behind the cone, before the bridge, there is a retractable launch platform for probes , missiles and beam dispersers Sailing 24. The bridge is located near the front of the ship. Located behind the bridge, on the upper starboard and port sides, are two turrets, each with three cannons and covers. There is also a similar, single cover on the underside of the ship around this section, possibly holding a third turret with one cannon . Two docking bays are attached to the main body, behind the turrets and ahead of the fins, one on each side of the ship. The starboard bay is larger than the port one. At the rear of the ship are several engines that provide thrust. On top of the ship, there is a large booster built into a fin. On the horizontal plane, there are two diagonal fins with smaller engines suspended at the ends. The external engines are cylindrical and have a cone extruding at the front. The central engine has four nozzles whilst the rest have one. On the underside of the hull is a smaller, cut-off fin with a rectractable antenna mast with several panels. The ship has various sub-thrusters located across it to help it maneuver. There are also anchors to keep the ship moored Sailing 11. Interior Bridge The bridge consists of two levels. The lower level is where the steering wheel is located as well as the consoles for navigation, electronic warfare, radar and sensors, and the engines. The upper level is where the captain's seat is located as well as the console for the weapon systems. The lower level is accessed through a set of stairs located below where the captain's seat is, and the upper level is accessed by a door located on the side of the display behind the captain's seat. When battle stations is called, the roof and the upper level are lowered, and shutters block the windows. The view outside the ship is then shown on the visual display on the ceiling. Captain's Room The captain's room is a long, rectangular room which has a wooden border, a red carpet laid down the middle and a ceiling with several window strips that give a view of space outside the ship. The captain's chair is located at one end of the room with a desk in front of it and the Bentenmaru's flag on the wall behind it. The desk has a built-in holographic display with a number of secret files that can be accessed with the captain's ID ring. Ahead of it is a cocktail table with two benches on either side. A door is situated near the corner of the room behind the captain's seat (to their left) that leads to the bedroom. On the wall to the left of the captain's seat, there is a display with various pirate weapons, a steering wheel and a skull with a pirate hat. Near the wall is a barrel. On the wall to the right of the captain's seat, there is a blackboard and beside it is a chest. Lighting is provided by a line of lights on the ceiling beam along the middle of the room and from two lamps in the corners, on the wall behind the captain's seat. Miscellaneous Rooms Other rooms on the ship include the infirmary, the armory, a large cafeteria, a simulator room, a dojo Sailing 06, a laundry , various cabins (with bunkbeds) and locker rooms. Upgrades During an encounter with the Grand Cross, the Bentenmaru received considerable damage and needed repairing on arrival at the Pirate's Nest . While repairs were being made, the ship was upgraded in preparation for the upcoming battle between the pirates and the Grand Cross. Three extending antenna rods were installed near the front and two extra rows of panels were added to the antenna mast (as well as more panels on the original row). Two large thrusters were also installed below the horizontal fins Sailing 25. Sometime after the final battle with the Grand Cross, the upgrades were removed from the ship . Colour Scheme The Bentenmaru's colour scheme primarily consists of bands of magenta and black, with a silver nose cone and green engine cones. The bridge and turrets are magenta whilst the bays are black/grey. The extra thrusters, installed at the Pirate's Nest, are mostly white with several yellow bands, a silver cone and a grey nozzle cover. The Bentenmaru's emblem is painted on the side on the black band below the bridge and on side the upper engine. The ship's name is written just below the bridge and on the docking bays. Technology & Combat Characteristics Weapons and Arsenal The primary weapons of the Bentenmaru are two sets of cannons mounted on turrets on the upper port and starboard side of the ship just behind the bridge. Each turret has three cannons and can be operated from both the turret Sailing 10 and the bridge Sailing 15. The cannons are covered while not in use. As well as damaging enemy ships, the cannons can also fire laser beams to disrupt sensors and/or forcibly transmit messages Sailing 09. The ship is also equipped with anti-matter missiles which can be used to clear stardust , reconnaissance drones for gathering information , decoys , beam dispersers and cluster missiles Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace. There is also a pulse weapon installed in the nose . On board the ship, aside from the firearms in the armoury, there is also automated sleeping gas for subduing intruders Sailing 07. In the novels, the Bentenmaru's main weapons are 2 sets of Class 40 3-barrel cannons located in the front Miniskirt Pirates Volume 6. The light cruiser it was based on has 3 sets, with an extra set in the back, but the Bentenmaru removed it for agility Miniskirt Pirates Volume 1. Engines The primary thrusters are powered by four engines located at the rear of the ship: one central and three external. The sub-thrusters across the ship allow it to maneuver. The engines have limiters built into them that can be released when maximum thrust is required . When in operation, their emissions have a magenta hue . The Bentenmaru has two converter reactors used for FTL jumps; alpha and beta. They have aged significantly and are often difficult to use — the beta reactor in particular is difficult to get a stable output out of . Two additional boosters were installed on the Bentenmaru at the Pirate's Nest. The main purpose of the installments was to prepare the Bentenmaru for the battle with the Grand Cross. Electronic Warfare, Radar and Sensors The Bentenmaru possesses capacity for electronic warfare and is capable of jamming. With the upgrades made at the Pirate Nest, sensor and radar systems were upped by 20%. It allowed the Bentenmaru to synchronise systems with the other pirate ships and produce an accurate map of the battle area. When the Bentenmaru performs a radar scan, a blue pulse is emitted from the antenna mast. Other Systems The ship also has an artifical gravity system. All of the ship's systems can be controlled using the captain's security ring. History The Bentenmaru was one of the Original Seven, the first seven pirate ships to receive Letters of Marque from the Sea of the Morning Star government during the War of Independence, and is one of the survivors of the group. At some point in the past, there was an incident where the Bentenmaru touched down right in the middle of the 7th Imperial Fleet . Recruitment Arc At the start of the series, the ship's captain, Gonzaemon Kato passed away due to food poisoning, after which the ship's license entered a grace period. By law, only his direct descendant could inherit the Letter of Marque, so two members of the crew, Kane McDougal and Misa Grandwood, approached his daughter, Marika, with the offer of becoming captain. During this time, several factions were targetting Marika due to being in a position to inherit the Bentenmaru, so the crew kept an eye on her, with Kane and Misa going undercover at Hakuoh Academy. During the Odette II's practice cruise, the Bentenmaru was monitoring the ship, flying with its transponder off, trying to avoid detection by the Odette II. Kane, aboard the Odette II, also communicated with the ship on an encrypted line regarding a ghost ship that had been picked up during an earlier radar scan Sailing 04. When the Odette II was attacked by the Lightning 11, the Bentenmaru and the Barbaroosa, together with several Stellar Military ships, arrived shortly after the Lightning 11's gunners had been incapacitated by reflected light from the Odette II's solar panels. Both pirate ships then opened fire on the attacker Sailing 05. After Marika received her Letter of Marque, she travelled to the Bentenmaru to begin her training. In order for her to get practical experience, the crew arranged a raid on the liner Princess Apricot. The Bentenmaru ambushed the ship and carried out the planned raid with little difficulty. It then rendezvoused with the Barbaroosa so Chiaki Kurihara (who had joined Marika for training) could return to her ship . Golden Ghost Ship Arc Some time after Marika became captain, the Bentenmaru took a sudden job involving a raid on the Symphony Angel, with an additional mock battle against the ship's Corback-class escorts. After ambushing the ship and initiating jamming, the Bentenmaru exchanged fire with the three Corbacks. After several warning shots, both the escorts and the liner surrendered, allowing the Bentenmaru crew to board the Symphony Angel. However, during the raid, the Bentenmaru's security systems were temporarily overriden and someone stowed away onboard. The crew realised that they had picked up a stowaway shortly after they had left, and as the stowaway refused to speak to anyone other than the captain, contacted Marika . After learning of Gonzaemon's passing, the stowaway introduced herself as Princess Gruier Serenity and asked for the Bentenmaru's help in finding the Golden Ghost Ship. A few days later, the Bentenmaru received a request from the escort fleet's command to investigate an unknown ship approaching the Tau system (identified by Gruier as a Serenity ship bringing data on the ghost ship). As there were signs that there was more than one ship and that they were engaged in combat, the crew went to battle stations as the Bentenmaru arrived in the area where the ship was expected to arrive. Shortly afterwards a Serenity Corback touched down, damaged and using its combat radar, followed by several other Serenity ships Sailing 08. All of the ships displayed high energy readings and combat radar signals. After having their tranponder data transmitted, Marika ordered full power to sensors and radar, and to initiate combat logging, transmitting to an off-site backup as the Serenity ships were putting a lot of power into jamming them. Assessing the situation, with one ship heading for the Sea of the Morning Star and five ships pursuing, likely to silence any witnesses, Marika decided to have Gruier address the Serenity ships. The Bentenmaru locked onto the six ships and fired transmission beams, forcibly transmitting Gruier's orders for them to stand down. Immediately afterwards, the Serenity ships ceased combat functions. The Bentenmaru received two messages, one from Grand Chamberlain Yotof aboard the damaged Corback, the other from the battleship's captain. After sending messages to the ships in the princess's name, the Bentenmaru proceeded to dock with the Corback while the other ships stood down and returned to formation. Once Yotof delivered his cargo, the ships undocked and the Serenity vessels departed. After decoding the information on the Golden Ghost Ship and learning of the course it was likely taking, the Bentenmaru left the Sea of the Morning Star and headed for the area the ghost ship was likely to be at . Some time into the voyage, the Bentenmaru was traversing a stormy nebula thick with dust and rough gravity waves. Moving towards a break in the storm, the ship launched a number of recon probes to gather data. While the captain was off the bridge, the crew discovered an operational observational network of probes left by previous search teams from Serenity and with a fair amount of work managed to crack the security to access it, clearing up the unclear space considerably. The network also indicated that there were other ships in the area, likely battleship class. The next day, the observational buoys detected a large spatial irregularity about six light years from the Bentenmaru. The ship made an FTL jump to where the irregularity was and emerged in stormy space. The anti-matter missiles launched ahead to clear the space became misalligned so there were a number of fusion blasts on the hull. The crew soon realised that the spatial irregularity didn't originate there and that the source was actually in motion. As they were alligning the data they received with the data from the buoys to predict the next irregularity, radar signals were detected. As the Bentenmaru was distant and in passive scanning mode, the crew suspected that they might not have been detected by the other ships, though that would change if they switched to active scanning. However as they were thinking about slipping through, a cross-field was detected, meaning that they couldn't escape detection. Schnitzer launched a number of decoys on random courses to confuse the other ships, though he doubted they would be effective if they were careful enough to use a cross-field. On the radar, there were three groups of ships, the closest being a pair of escorts moving towards the Bentenmaru. Marika ordered the ship to reverse course and meet the two escorts, getting as close as possible and firing a dispersal shot to damage their sensors and armour. As they neared the targets, they initiated jamming and prepared to fire. The ships were then identified as Serenity Corbacks but Marika didn't change her plan. Once they were within range, the Corbacks opened fire on the Bentenmaru. Dodging the beams, the Bentenmaru fired dispersal shots at the Corbacks at close range, damaging their sensors and surveillance equipment, before accelerating away. The Corbacks fired some shots at the Bentenmaru, but they were deflected by chaff deployed by the escaping ship. They made no attempt to pursue . The Bentenmaru continued on through the turbulent space. As they reached a clearing, Marika sent Gruier with Misa to try on a spacesuit, then discussed with her crew what the Serenity fleet was up to and her plans. Deciding on their course of action, Marika informed the crew that the ship was about to make an FTL jump and that they might be involved in a firefight with a battleship on touchdown. After preparations, the Bentenmaru performed the FTL jump towards the location where the next space-time quake was expected. The ship touched down in turbulent space, on the other side of the space-time quake from where the Serenity ships were. Two reconnaisance probes were detected, likely in active scanning mode, but they were ignored. The quake was different from the previous ones, with high energy concentrations and space-time vibrations. Not long after touchdown, an intense gravity source was detected, with alarmingly high readings. The Bentenmaru took evasive action but was unable to evade completely. The ship was shaken as the gravity ring passed by, though not as much as the crew had feared. Looking to find out what was causing a gravity source with no accompanying matter moving at half the speed of light, Coorie found a spatial rip where the ring had originated. As it could tear the ship apart, the crew acted to get the ship away from the spatial rip. Once the limiters were removed, the Bentenmaru moved away at full speed. A large shockwave was emitted from the rift as space was being torn apart, and the ship was severely shaken by the impact. The crew then focused their efforts on stabilising the ship rather than fleeing. As another shockwave hit the ship, they caught sight of the Golden Ghost Ship emerging from the spatial rip. As the ghost ship emerged, Marika noticed distortions in the space around it. High energy readings at the same time indicated that the rift distortion was going to be released. Coorie suggested that they minimise their profile towards the ghost ship as the shockwave was going to be as big as a supernova. Kane brought the ship around to take the impact from the bow. The ship was hit by several energy streams, overloading its onboard systems, but ultimately withstood them. Once in stable space, the crew quickly brought the main systems back online to get the ship moving again. As they had been isolated before the overload, radar and sensors systems were OK but the communications and weapon systems needed reconfiguring. As the Bentenmaru approached the Golden Ghost Ship, the Serenity ships moved towards them. When the ship's communication systems were back online, they found the flagship was hailing them. Gruier answered the message and had a visual confrontation with her sister Grunhilde. Just as they had finished, the ghost ship suddenly performed a high energy radar scan, followed by a communication. After the Bentenmaru sent a correct identification response, the ghost ship's docking port opened. Moving to dock with the ghost ship before the escort ships, the Bentenmaru went ahead at combat speed with the antenna masts withdrawn, going in backwards. The ship scraped the docking port and hit the buffers but didn't suffer major damage. After the doors closed, another space-time quake occured, indicating that the ghost ship was returning to subspace. The Bentenmaru launched its anchors and the crew prepared for the impact . Once the quake had ended, a group went on an EVA to repair any damage that the ship had sustained, while another group ventured inside the ghost ship. After the events that unfolded inside the ghost ship and the ship's return to Serenity, the Bentenmaru undocked and set a course for the Sea of the Morning Star Sailing 12. However, on receiving an urgent message from Gruier, the ship reversed course and headed back to Serenity Sailing 13. Hakuoh Pirates Arc While Marika was away from the Bentenmaru, a bio-container that the ship was transporting opened and released its cargo of cat-monkeys which got loose in the ship. Five of them were carrying an infectious disease which spread through the ventilation system and infected the crew. The crew was put in quarantine and the Bentenmaru was disinfected. Afterwards it was set on auto-pilot and locked Sailing 14. With the crew unlikely to be released before the Letter of Marque expired, Marika brought the members of the Hakuoh Academy Yacht Club to help her fly the Bentenmaru. The crew were aware of this but chose not to mention it to their captain. They were aware of the problems they would face flying the Bentenmaru so they set about writing an instruction manual while Marika took the yacht club onboard, using her ID ring to unlock the ship. Shortly after boarding, Maki let her curiosity get the better of her and pressed a button on the tactical console, accidentally firing the Bentenmaru's main cannons to the dismay of the crew. The yacht club then tried to get the ship underway whilst the crew frantically rushed to complete the manual before any damage was caused. The first launch attempt ended in failure, but Show managed to deliver the instruction manual while the yacht club were taking a break. The crew were relieved when the second launch attempt was successful, however this was cut short when Marika proposed doing a practice FTL jump, something which the crew hadn't put in the manual. To make matters worse, several military ships appeared in the distance, having seen the energy discharge earlier and had come to investigate. With no choice, Marika and the yacht club had to recall the details of FTL jumps and use their own skills and judgement to successfully jump to safety. Shortly after they entered subspace, Chiaki and the princesses discovered and destroyed the hidden camera the crew were using . Later, Marika and the yacht club carried out a pirate raid on the Princess Apricot, with the Bentenmaru successfully docking with the liner without any major problems (though slightly rough) before undocking and taking off Sailing 16. Not long after the raid, Marika and the yacht club learned about Jenny's request to have the Bentenmaru fake a kidnapping and escort her to Space University in order to escape an arranged marriage she was being forced into. As they were discussing whether or not to take the job, a Silent Whisper carrying Jenny, who had had to escape by herself due to her uncle's men, approached the Bentenmaru. The crew recovered the vessel and brought it aboard the ship. Shortly after negotiations with the insurance company were concluded, the Hugh and Dolittle escort fleet approached the Bentenmaru and began firing on it. The ship performed an FTL jump in order to escape the attackers Sailing 17. The Hugh and Dolittle fleet managed to catch up with the Bentenmaru shortly after touchdown and continued firing on the ship. With Ai at the helm and Lynn working on jamming, the ship was able to evade the shots fired at it, while Marika tried to think up a strategy. After a while, the enemy ships closed in on the Bentenmaru's position, intending to take out the engines then board the ship. In order to escape, Marika and Lynn used a trick they had devised from their experience with the fake ghost ship when the Lightning 11 attacked the Odette II. They loaded copies of the Bentenmaru's mass profile and dummy transponders onto two decoy missiles and launched them, creating the impression that there were three Bentenmarus on radar. While the enemy was confused, the real Bentenmaru made a charge at the Jabberwocky, performing an FTL jump to escape. The ship then proceeded to the Glorious Coolph and docked so that they could find something to use against their enemies and cancel the marriage. After their business was concluded, the yacht club left the Bentenmaru and returned to the Odette II . Nebula Cup Arc (Anime-Only) While the crew were still in isolation, Marika made a trip to the Bentenmaru to do some cleaning, using her ID ring to lock and unlock the ship's systems. However when she left, she forgot to lock the entrance and only locked the master lock on the systems. The next day, the ring fell out of her pocket while she was helping the yacht club clean the Odette II, and she didn't notice until she was called to the Bentenmaru to unlock the systems for the crew. Fortunately Grunhilde found the ring and the yacht club delivered it to the Bentenmaru. Ai then brought the Bentenmaru to the relay station Sailing 19. During the yacht club's competition to decide who would represent them in the Nebula Cup, the Bentenmaru entered the upper atmosphere of the Sea of the Morning Star and used the pulse device in its nose cone to stir up the winds and waves. As the yacht club left for Calmwind via shuttle, the Bentenmaru also launched from the relay station and headed for Calmwind . On arrival, the Bentenmaru entered orbit around Calmwind. When the Bisque Company attacked the Nebula Cup racers in an attempt to kill Marika, the crew took the Bentenmaru down into the atmosphere to save their captain, despite the risk it posed to the ship. After picking up Marika's dinghy, the Bentenmaru was fired on by the Bisque craft. The crew were unable to deploy the main weapons in the atmosphere, but Marika remembered the previous incident and had them ready the pulse device in the nose. Being unable to manoeuvre properly within the atmosphere, the Bentenmaru faced a problem in getting the Bisque craft within their firing range. Fortunately Ai, who was worried about Marika, came to their aid and informed them of an incoming wind current, which they used to bring the Bisque craft within range. The Bisque craft was hit, but as it went down it fired off an electromagnetic attack. While it didn't affect the Bentenmaru, it knocked out electronical systems on Ai's dinghy, however she continued flying, using the stars to navigate. Once Ai was safely away and with the ship nearing its limit, the Bentenmaru returned to space Sailing 21. Pirate Hunter Arc (Anime-Only) After a series of attacks on pirate ships by a mysterious pirate hunter, Marika had Show arrange for the Bentenmaru to escort another pirate ship, in order to provide both ships with extra protection should the pirate hunter attack. Once the arrangement was sorted, the Bentenmaru rendezvoused with the Big Catch and its escort fleet. Some time into their journey, an unknown vessel touched down in front of the pirate ships. Ignoring Marika's warning, the Big Catch moved ahead of the Bentenmaru to engage the enemy. The Bentenmaru was under electronic attack during the ensuing confrontation but the enemy focused its fire on the Big Catch. When the enemy ship briefly fell silent, the Big Catch turned to retreat and the Bentenmaru remained close to it. Shortly afterwards, the enemy ship surprised both crews by rapidly zigzagging to block the Big Catch's path and incapacitating it with a heavy laser barrage. Before the enemy could attack the Bentenmaru, another ship touched down Sailing 22. After the Parabellum drove off the Grand Cross and left, the Bentenmaru moved to help the stricken Big Catch. Though the ship itself couldn't be saved, the crew was rescued. When the pirate's song was broadcast, the Bentenmaru headed for the Pirate's Nest. However while en route, the ship was ambushed by the Grand Cross Sailing 23. Immediately after the Grand Cross touched down, it initiated an electronic attack on the Bentenmaru, followed by heavy laser fire. The Bentenmaru managed to keep the electronic attack at bay and evade the laser shots, maintaining distance from the Grand Cross. As the Bentenmaru was at a disadvantage, Marika planned to get enough distance for the Bentenmaru to make an FTL jump, with their chance coming when the Grand Cross used its gravity control to zigzag at them. The crew made preparations for the jump and the two ships continued to exchange fire, but the Grand Cross showed no signs of zigzagging. Marika ordered the crew to turn the ship round and flee, intending to lure the Grand Cross into making its move, running at full speed and jumping if it didn't, spinning back round if they did and taking them head-on if they zigzagged. Taking control of the main cannons, Schnitzer ordered the rest of the crew and gunners to take cover where the ship's armour was thickest as the bulkheads were sealed. Once preparations were complete, the ship turned round to flee. As expected, the Grand Cross deployed its gravity control technology and zigzagged towards the Bentenmaru, which spun back round to meet it. The Grand Cross attempted to get above the Bentenmaru, but the ship quickly moved so they would meet head on. It then deployed as many dispersers as it could before the Grand Cross initiated its laser barrage. The Bentenmaru counterattacked with the main cannons as multiple shots struck the ship's armour. As it was being riddled with holes, the Bentenmaru accelerated towards the Grand Cross, slipping through the gap between its hulls and out of range of the enemy's laser barrage. The Grand Cross then powered down and made no attempt to pursue them. Once some of the damage was repaired, the Bentenmaru made an FTL jump, heading once more for the Pirate's Nest. After arrival, the ship was moored at one of the nest's maintenance bays for repairs . While the repairs were being made, the crew also upgraded the ship's communications, radar and sensory systems in preparation for the upcoming battle. Two large boosters were also installed to increase engine output . The Bentenmaru left the Pirate's Nest with the other frontier pirates to confront the Grand Cross, acting as the control point for the pirates' electronic warfare efforts. As they arrived at the chosen location for the battle and three Grand Crosses touched down in front of them, the Bentenmaru extended its masts and began electronic warfare, synchronising with the other ships in the fleet to produce a clear view of their surroundings. As the Grand Crosses opened fire on the pirates, the Bentenmaru remained on the edges of the enemy's firing radius. Shortly afterwards, the ship detected the gravity wave signals heralding the zigzag and alerted the enemy's target, the El Santo. After Grand Cross β was destroyed, Shangri-La signalled the Bentenmaru so Marika, Hyakume and Schnitzer could join them for boarding operations. As the Barbaroosa destroyed Grand Cross γ, the Bentenmaru fired on Grand Cross α, which then zigzagged towards it. The Bentenmaru dodged the laser barrage from the Grand Cross, which was then rammed by the Shangri-La. After the Grand Cross self-destructed, Marika returned from the Shangri-La to the Bentenmaru and informed everyone of their victory. With the events concerning the pirate hunter at a close, the Bentenmaru set a course for the Sea of the Morning Star Sailing 26. Abyss of Hyperspace During the spring break before Marika's third year, the Bentenmaru continued pirating operations but suffered a number of job cancellations, around the same time as a series of subspace accidents. After one such cancellation, the Bentenmaru carried out a pirating raid on Begin The Beguine, during which Marika brought Kanata Mugen aboard, in order to carry out the task that his father Professor Mugen had entrusted to the Bentenmaru and Gonzaemon Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace Manga Chapter 2. Immediately after picking up Kanata, three military ships, apparently from the Mira Stellar Force, touched down and demanded that the crew surrender their 'hostage' to them. After Marika and Coorie exposed the captain of the battleship as an imposter, the Bentenmaru performed an FTL jump to escape. Shortly after jumping, the ship hit subspace turbulence and was forced to dive to another route in order to escape to safety Mouretsu Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace Manga Chapter 3. After safely arriving at the Sea of the Morning Star, the crew continued investigating the enemy who attacked them, while Marika and Kanata were on the planet. They also cooperated with Lynn's electronic warfare efforts in finding the culprit behind a case of mass data theft on New Okuhama City's computer network, eventually identifying their enemy as the Yggdrasil Group . Following Kanata's decision to see what his father had left behind, the Bentenmaru headed for the comet Hrbek Oda, which had been indicated by the puzzle on Flint. After placing a boarding party onto the professor's ship which was found on the comet, the Bentenmaru remained close to the comet in order to be able to dock as quickly as possible if trouble arose. When Yggdrasil's forces arrived, the ship came under fire from the three military ships, preventing it from safely docking. It continued to exchange fire until the combined Odette II and Barbaroosa arrived and engaged the enemy, giving an opportunity to retrieve the boarding party. After doing so, the Bentenmaru dived into subspace to help Kanata in the Advaseele, once again putting the ship at risk. After dispatching the Flawens that were attacking the Advaseele, Kanata continued deeper into subspace while the Bentenmaru surfaced to protect itself. The ship continued to receive Kanata's transmissions as the Advaseele dove to the X-Pont and unlocked the energy within it, parts of which surfaced near the ship as it spread through subspace and created a new subspace junction. The Bentenmaru then assisted with the recovery operations, together with the Odette II and the Barbaroosa . Three Ships Arc (Novel-Only) The Bentenmaru was involved in the pirates' investigation of Garnet A Miniskirt Pirates Volume 5, following a distress signal and unusual phenomena on the star's surface Miniskirt Pirates Volume 4. The ship took part in a battle against a faction seeking to obtain the Stellar Slayer and protected the Odette II from the enemy attempting to seize it . Skull Star Arc (Novel-Only) The Bentenmaru was one of several pirate ships which took part in a training exercise with a fleet from the Galactic Empire Miniskirt Pirates Volume 7. Wanted Arc (Novel-Only) On receiving a distress signal from the transport ship Maria Forte 85 while heading back to the Tau Ceti system, the Bentenmaru went to assist it and found the ship under attack from three Derrflinger-class cruisers. The Bentenmaru exchanged fire with the attackers, but eventually had to retreat as it was outmatched Miniskirt Pirates Volume 9. War of Independence Arc (Novel-Only) After the Odette II's accidental timeslip, the Bentenmaru was hired to investigate the space-time anomaly involved in the incident. As she wasn't necessarily needed for the job, Marika returned to the Sea of the Morning Star for the night, however while she was off-ship, the Bentenmaru vanished, having experienced the same phenomena that occurred with the Odette II Miniskirt Pirates Volume 11. Fever Mouretsu Pirates (Game-Only) The Bentenmaru is featured in many missions throughout the game, in particularly the Galaxy Episodes, in which the ship faces off with various other pirate ships, including a past version of itself captained by Blaster Ririka Fever Mouretsu Pirates. Crew Bridge Crew *Marika Kato (captain) *Misa Grandwood (medic) *Kane McDougal (helmsman) *Hyakume (radar and sensor specialist) *Coorie (electronic warfare specialist) *Schnitzer (tactical officer) *San-Daime (engineer) *Luca (navigator) Other *Sai (secondary radar/sensor operator) (novel-only) *Hikoza (combat personnel sub-commander) (novel-only) *Tex Avery (turret gunner) (novel-only) *Burigado (machinery maintenance) (novel-only) Uniform (Anime) In the anime series, some crew members on the Bentenmaru wear a two-toned jacket (blue for males, purple for females) with the secondary emblem (a stylised circular skill with crossbones behind it and a cross on top) on the back and left upper chest, a belt with several pouches attached and grey trousers. Other members wear a bandana with the emblem, shirt, trousers and sometimes a brown sleeveless jacket with the emblem on the left upper chest. In Abyss of Hyperspace, the crew's clothes are more varied, though most wear the Bentenmaru's emblem . Former Crew *Ririka Kato *Gonzaemon Kato (captain, deceased) *Chirusonian Bunzaemon Kato (captain, 21 December, New calender year 129, War of Independence) Gallery Bentenmaru._-_Copy.jpg|The Bentenmaru's novel design by Noriyuki Matsumoto Bentenmaru - Movie Design.png|Bentenmaru Movie Design Abyss of Hyperspace - Bentenmaru Bridge.png|The Bentenmaru's bridge in Abyss of Hyperspace Creator Works - Bentenmaru Model.jpg|Bentenmaru model by Creator Works Creator Works - Upgraded Bentenmaru.jpg|Upgraded Bentenmaru model by Creator Works Creator Works - Abyss Bentenmaru.jpg|Abyss of Hyperspace Bentenmaru model by Creator Works Trivia *The ship's name is comprised of two elements. The first, Benten, comes from the Japanese goddess Benten, also known as . Maru (丸, Circle) is a common suffix applied to . *According to Kenjo Kurihara, the Bentenmaru kept its "never been sunk" record during all training battles with the Imperial fleet. Gonzaemon always surrendered before the ship was sunk in training battles, not wanting to let the military know the full extent of what he and Bentenmaru were fully capable of. The record was kept by Marika on her first training battle, without knowing this beforehand, but with a different reason, thinking it would be easier on the crew . *Models of three versions of the Bentenmaru (anime standard and upgraded, and Abyss of Hyperspace) have been released as part of Hasegawa's Creator Works series Hasegawa, Bentenmaru ModelHasegawa, Upgraded Bentenmaru ModelHasegawa, Abyss of Hyperspace Bentenmaru Model. References Category:Ships Category:Pirate Ships